What are the pros and cons of working on a group project via "distance"? In other words, something like a Google Site that you can each work on at home without all having to meet up at Starbucks for 3 hours.
skip to main |
skip to sidebar
In this course, students will discover, evaluate and utilize new technologies to create educational materials. Focus will be on Web 2.0 tools and the read/write web.
Blog Archive
About Me
- Amy Slate
- B.A. in French Education, Drew University; M.Ed in Educational Technology, Lesley University; Ed.D candidate in Curriculum and Teaching, Boston University. Teaching certifications in CT and MA, French K-12 and Instructional Technology K-12. All-around funny, smart chick.
13 comments:
I think by working on google sites the biggest pro is the convenience of being able to work in your preferred environment rather than scrambling to find somewhere to work together. Another pro is that maybe one person works better alone rather than be in a group setting. However, by working from distance, groups can get lost due to not everyone being on the same page. By working together in person people can bounce ideas off each other and work more fluidly.
The biggest advantage to working on a group project via “distance” is the ability to work in one’s own environment and (relative) time table. This is in contrast to having all group members meet in person, where finding mutual free time for a group of 10 people can be very difficult. By being able to work via distance, all team members have a greater chance to participate, and with more members participating that can lead to greater idea generation and completing the assigned work faster. That being said, there are also negative aspects to working via distance, where the main issue for me is communication. I personally like to talk and explain things with my hands, and that cannot show through when working on things via distance (unless you have a simultaneous video chat). Communication can break down very easily when not physically with someone, and explaining specific directions or trying to teach someone to do a complex task via email/text/messaging can be very difficult, whereas when you are with someone you can physically point to where you want them to go/what you want them to do. I believe the most effective way for a group to complete a task is to utilize both face to face as well as distance meetings; I have found it is very useful to first gather everyone together to make sure everyone is on the same page, then assign tasks for every person to complete on their own time.
The largest advantage seems to be the convenience of scheduling. Everyone can contribute according to their own schedule, and there is no struggle to determine the appropriate time for everyone to meet. However, it can be extremely difficult to communicate effectively without physical proximity, and tasks can take a lot longer to complete fully.
Working at a distance allows each individual to work at their own pace, with their own preferred technology, and with their own preferred set of distractions. However, if there are not clear guidelines at the beginning as to who is doing what, it can be pretty frustrating. Moreover, the finished project can lack a coordinated look, since each individual was focused on their own portion of the work and there was no time to make it uniform.
But in general, with all the business of life and the craziness of schedules, I think distance group work is a huge help.
I think that working on group projects via distance has both its pros and cons. Some pros are that everyone can work at their own pace and at whatever time they are free. It is hard to schedule a meeting time for everyone since most of the time everyone's schedules are different. However, a con includes communication among members in the group. Sometimes emails may not be clear or it might take a person awhile to respond because they haven't checked their email yet. Miscommunication can occur if there is no set outline of what everyone has to do.
Another benefit of just meeting up and sitting down together to work on a project is that the project can be mostly finished in the meeting instead of perhaps the project taking a bit longer than it needs to because we are waiting for someone to respond before we continue. Working together allows immediate feedback which will get the project done quicker.
With that being said, working on a project is still efficient for people because it is hard to get together with everyone's hectic schedules.
One of the biggest pros to working on a group project via "distance" would have to be being able to work on the project on your own time. There isn't scheduling conflicts and each member is held responsible for doing their own job. The biggest con would have to be the lack of communication. You don't get the instant feedback that you need and questions can go unanswered.
As many of my classmate have already said, the greatest advantage of working with "distance" on google sites is the convenience of scheduling your own time to work. I think that as long as the group has divided up the tasks of the assignment, everyone knows what they must do on their own. But with larger groups of people working on one task together via google sites, I can see misunderstanding and communication being a major issue.
I think the biggest pro of working on a group project via "distance" is that it can be very difficult for group members to find a convenient time for everyone to meet up. This can delay the process of getting the work done that needs to be done. When using something like Google Site, each member can work at home at a time that is best for them. In addition, the group members can view, add to, or correct each other's work. In contrast, a con of working on a group project via "distance" is that there may be a miscommunication of who is assigned to do what. In addition, it is more difficult to collaborate on ideas than it would be if everyone met up in person.
One of the biggest advantages in working on a group project through an application like google sites is the connivence of being able to work wherever and whenever you'd like. with busy college and work schedules its difficult to to arrange a meeting time that satisfies everyones obligations. By communicating as we work individually, it allows us to work efficiently when its convenient for us. however the down side is that working with other people allows you to feed off each others ideas and expand on them which can't be done too well alone. Its also difficult to explain why you did something a certain way over the internet and email.
There are many advantages to working at a distance. Namely, the individual is able to collaborate with people in a manner that transcends geographic boundaries. In addition, there are many softwares that allow the group to work a on a greater variety of projects. The greatest advantage in my opinion is the convenience of being able to work at home and do an assignment or work in any environment that it is conducive to your best work ethic. It is excellent for people who have schedules that are difficult to align. As a college student this advantage presents itself in the ability to work in the late hours of the night as a group. Living on different parts of campus, it is often unsafe or uncomfortable to work on projects that are far from your home because you have to return home late at night. The advantage that working at a distance provides, eliminates this problem.
There are many advantages to working at a distance. Namely, the individual is able to collaborate with people in a manner that transcends geographic boundaries. In addition, there are many softwares that allow the group to work a on a greater variety of projects. The greatest advantage in my opinion is the convenience of being able to work at home and do an assignment or work in any environment that it is conducive to your best work ethic. It is excellent for people who have schedules that are difficult to align. As a college student this advantage presents itself in the ability to work in the late hours of the night as a group. Living on different parts of campus, it is often unsafe or uncomfortable to work on projects that are far from your home because you have to return home late at night. The advantage that working at a distance provides, eliminates this problem.
Honestly, I wouldn't have called this a group effort because I didn't have to interact with my group besides the initial class where we decided the topic. I like how google sites allows us to work on the site from any computer, so that enabled the ability for a group project to work, especially for college students who are consistently busy and incapable of meeting together. Technically this is a group effort because I didn't compile all those recipes on the site, I simply didn't experience a group effort "feel."
Post a Comment